Australia, here we come
But will the travel bubble see cashed-up tourists heading our way?
Northlanders are hoping the transtasman travel bubble will take off smoothly on Monday. But while many families are gearing up for long-awaited reunions with loved ones not seen in over a year, businesses are expecting a trickle rather than a flood of visitors heading north to holiday.
Onerahi couple Patrick and Pandora Tetai can’t wait to see their two sons and eight grandchildren who live in Sydney.
They booked their two-week trip through House of Travel Whanga¯rei this week and fly out on May 5.
The wha¯nau last saw each other just before lockdown; Patrick and Pandora were there for the birth of their moko, who recently turned 1.
“We are so looking forward to it,” Patrick said.
“I’m a bit nervous. My fear is all about Covid and how it changes all the time.
“My wife isn’t, she’s over it, she just wants to get there and see her mokos.”
Val Rufus-Ellis from Whanga¯rei is equally excited about her son’s threeweek visit from Sydney, which starts on April 26.
She last saw Brandon at the end of 2019, and she has been communicating with him and her two young granddaughters via FaceTime.
Rufus-Ellis said she had not made any big plans just in case the situation changes due to the pandemic. They’ll mostly hang out at home, and go out for the odd meal, she said.
She admits being “excited, but apprehensive” about his visit.
“Every now and then you hear of people in managed isolation getting Covid, and it’s really quite disconcerting.
“In the back of our minds, we’re wondering if it will last. We don’t want to make arrangements, just in case it falls apart before he gets here.”
Northland tourism operators have reported a slow trickle of bookings since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the resumption of quarantine-free travel between Australia and New Zealand
Clive Raines, who owns and manages two properties at Tapeka
Point near Russell, said his two bookings were “really positive”.
“It’s really good, it’s showing they’re interested in coming over during the off-peak.
“We’re very excited and happy to welcome them back again.
“We haven’t had a flood of inquiries and bookings but it’s definitely starting to happen.
“As time goes on people will get more confident – it’s going to ramp up really quickly.”
Sarah Greener, owner of The Rock Adventure Cruise in the Bay of Islands, said she had not yet had any bookings.
There was usually a three-to-sixmonth lead time for people planning overseas holidays, she said.
Travellers had to plan, apply for leave and organise their lives before getting on a plane.
She expects to get busier by the Australian school holidays, which run from July to September.
“Yes, we’ve turned on our advertising for Australia, but I’m not expecting them to travel here and to have people on my boat on April 21.
“It’s not just ‘let’s open the bubble and they will come. It’s open the bubble and they’ll start thinking about coming, and looking at their options.”
But there would be “plenty of people” from both sides of the ditch visiting friends and relatives, which would require less planning as usually they would stay with their loved ones, she said.